DEA Chief: Legal Pot Hurts Dogs

While “think of the children” has been the trump card of choice for prohibitionists attempting to obfuscate logic and elicit pity, DEA chief Michele Leonhart appears to have moved on to an even more cloying bit of rhetoric: think of the puppies!

During her testimony at a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting this week, Leonhart explained that the legalization of marijuana in Washington and Colorado has led to too many dogs getting too stoned.

“Veterinarians now are seeing dogs come in, their pets come in, and being treated because they’ve been exposed to marijuana … it goes back to the edibles, it goes back to the products that are in the household that are now made from marijuana, and it’s impacting pets,” Leonhart testified.

Leonhart’s new puppy pity tack comes from a recent article in USA Today, which claims that, because pot is legal in Colorado and Washington, more dogs are getting into their owner’s stash. And while “marijuana itself isn’t particularly harmful to dogs,” veterinarians are concerned about pot food because, “Dogs love that stuff, and they won’t eat just one.”

USA Today got its info from a 2012 study that found that two dogs died from consuming large amounts of cannabutter. The study used a sample of 125 dogs.

While no one would argue against Leonhart’s new stance (which is, of course, the point of the stance) it would be nice to see some concern over the absurd number of dogs killed with impunity by law enforcement upholding pot prohibition.